Chapter 16 - An Impossible Distance Away

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After sitting there on the floor with Anakin until her breathing resumed a normal pace, Ahsoka slowly pushed herself up, Anakin following suit. She cleared her throat and pulled the prison's holomap out of her cloak. "Alright. We'll need to go through this hall, turning right here if we want to-"

"There's my padawan," Anakin said softly, placing a strong, callused hand on Ahsoka's shoulder. She smiled up at him, though shimmering tears still glistened in the corners of her eyes. But Ahsoka knew they wouldn't fall.

She continued pointing out where they would have to go in the stronghold to reach Barriss, finally looking back up at Anakin. "Alright. Ready for one last mission, Skyguy?" Anakin nodded, a glint of his old mischievousness in his eye. Master and Padawan turned in unison, silently racing down the hall as they were trained to do. At each twist or turn, Anakin peered around the corner, checking for clones while Ahsoka slipped forward at the go-ahead. Blinking keypads and caught-off-guard clones blurred past as Anakin and Ahsoka dashed through the halls, thoughts of loss and change leaving Ahsoka's mind - if only for a moment - as she did what she loved most.

Finally, Ahsoka and Anakin skidded to a stop at cell ∑∆∂ - Barriss's cell. A shimmering, red ray shield guarded a metal door, with an eight-by-eight keypad beside it. Ahsoka took a deep breath, her anxiety returning. Seeming to sense her uneasiness, Anakin placed a reassuring hand on Ahsoka's shoulder. "Want me to stand guard, give you some time alone?" Ahsoka nodded gratefully, and Anakin turned to walk back down the hall, lightsaber at the ready. Using the information she'd abducted from the mainframe, Ahsoka slowly tapped in the code. With her finger poised on the last square, Ahsoka froze. She hadn't spoken to Barriss in countless rotations, nothing but stolen stares and clandestine remembrances. And now, she was showing up out of nowhere to, what, forgive Barriss for framing her? Claim that she knew Barriss was innocent? Offer to help clear her name after Barriss had purposely dirtied hers? Barriss would think her insane, most likely wouldn't even want her help. What would she do then? After risking her life, taking steps back when all she wanted was to move forward...

Ahsoka pressed the blinking square. She wouldn't do this to herself, not again. Overthinking every decision, big or small - if anything, Ahsoka knew that she loved Barriss; that decision was already made.

The ray shield blinked nearly out of existence, and the metal door slowly creaked upwards. Ahsoka's heart pounded against her chest, every breath searing through her lungs. Barriss's lanky, pale green limbs slowly appeared in Ahsoka's sightline, piece by piece - full lips, delicate face markings... and there they were. Those eyes. Ahsoka choked on her own air, clapping her hand over her mouth. Barriss slowly rose from the metal bench she had been sitting on to face Ahsoka. The two girls - parallels but opposites, exactly the same - stared at each other through the last few flickering bolts of red electricity until it faded away. Even when it was safe to move through the entrance, Ahsoka's boots rooted her into the ground.

As Ahsoka opened her mouth just to release puffs of silence, Barriss slowly reached out a hand to Ahsoka, letting her thin fingers curl back to her side.

"Why did you do it?"

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